Bachir Gemayel is the story of a Shekspearean ascension, that of a young man in a hurry who wanted to burn the stages and free himself from the bans.
He is one of the sons of the Gemayel family, one of the three pillar families, powerful feudalities of the Maronite Christian community in Lebanon and omnipresent in the political life of the country, each dominated by the stature of an undisputed and undisputed Chief.
The Gemayel in the 1940s were a large and pious family composed of a sibling of six children, two boys and four girls, raised in the cult of the father, Pierre Gemayel, historical founder of the Kataëb party, the Lebanese Phalanges in 1936, and charismatic figure of his military wing whose motto is « God, Homeland, Family ».
Bachir is the younger brother of Amine, this eldest son called naturally in the coming day, to succeed his father, according to the habits and customs of the transmission of power within families.
The young Bachir has difficulty accommodating this birthright, iniquitous in his eyes. Then begins for him a long, thorny journey to forge legitimacy within the clan. He had to prove himself, first in the eyes of the Father, and then with the young party guards. He had to print in the minds that if he was not the heir, he was the successor.
It was with the young recruits of the Phalanges that Bachir won his first stripes. He is of their generation, he speaks as they speak, he dresses like them, shares their daily lives. Fieldman, he’s one of their… More than their esteem, Bachir Gemayel will reap their love and loyalty.
Civil wars are powerful catalysts that promote the emergence of adventurers, the daring up to the bottlers, who don’t embarrass themselves with the order that was wavering before. A good civil war feeds on blood and tears, and also allows you not to have to justify yourself.
Bachir, at the head of his militia, will wage this war with an iron hand without weakening or varying. In its line of sight the Palestinians of the Fedayin organizations established in Lebanon since the Cairo accords, but also those who populate the poverty camps like that of Tall el-Zaatar… In its line of sight the Syrian occupants.
Bachir will also wage another war, fratricidal that, with the other Christian factions and militias, a bloody war, extreme violence causing much bitterness and deep wounds.
In May 1979, Bachir Gemayel will establish a forced merger of militias, which will not put an end to settlement and confrontation in the Christian ranks.
Nevertheless, Bachir managed to reach the first step on the podium. He officially became the focal point for the various Lebanese political parties but also for the capitals of the Western world.
On 13 September 1979, for the first time, Lebanese President Elias Sarkis received Bachir Gemayel at the presidential palace in Baabda.
Having succeeded in imposing himself as the heir, his Lebanese dream now seems at hand.
On 22 November 1980, in his speech, Bachir Gemayel posed indirectly as a candidate for the presidency of the Republic.
But Bachir, thoughtful or reckless, continues to make all taboos shine. His relationship with Israeli leaders is shocking and unworthy.
In Lebanon and in the Arab world, the criticisms against him were strong. They are virulent: treason, connection with the enemy..
On August 23, 1982, Bachir was elected President of the Republic in the second round of the election.
To the Israeli leaders who have ordered him to sign a peace agreement with the Hebrew State, Bashir, President-elect, is asking for time to obtain the approval of Lebanese Islam.
The one who had made all the taboos fly, had not finally resigned himself to crossing the Rubicon, to the great damn of Tel Aviv.
The day after his election, President Bachir Gemayel wants to conquer the hearts of Lebanese, all Lebanese. He wants to abolish the dividing line, he wants to go to the western part of Beirut to meet the Muslims. In Basta, the most emblematic of popular neighborhoods, Bachir Gemayel is warmly welcomed, acclaimed by the crowd and carried on his shoulders.
That day Bachir no longer needed a last name. « The man of the 10 452 km2 » was enough for his first name.
On 14 September 1982, Bachir Gemayel was killed in an explosion at the headquarters of the Phalanges.
His older brother Amine will succeed him in the process.
* director, producer of the program Espace francophone
